By Ellen L.Published: 2016-01-17
Recently we were really excited when a new little food shop opened on our street and we saw that they sold all kinds of chinese noodles (like Cantonese egg noodles), and most exciting of all, at least for me, was that they sold really fresh Cheong Fun 腸粉, also known as Rice Rolls or Rice Noodle Rolls. Cheong Fun is used for all kinds of dishes, both savory and sweet, but for myself the favorite preparation is the classic Hong Kong snack food Pan Fried Cheong Fun with Egg. Chewy fragrant rice, just fried egg clinging to the rolls, splashes of sweet soy sauce and oh, the tasty deliciousness of hoisin sauce! YUMM...comfort food alert!!
Cheong Fun 腸粉 is basically a rice flour and water mixture that is then shaped and steamed into thin sheets. We're talking about big sheets of rice less than 1/8" thick, translucent, delicate, wobbly, so breakable. Which then are rolled into 7" long rolls. Without breaking. Still looking immaculate, precise, untouched. Pretty amazing, if you ask me. Here's a video showing how it's done :
What can I say? The Chinese have got the crafty hands touch...
The kind of cheong fun rice rolls used to make our pan fried cheong fun is usually sold plain 腸粉 or with dried shrimp and spring onions 蝦米腸粉. The dim sum type cheong fun shown in the above video is made the exact same way but they add fresh ingredients like shrimp, or beef, or pork which is steam cooked along with the cheong fun.
Tip: When buying cheong fun look for freshness, rice rolls sheets should be thin (the thinner the better), gleaming, supple, wet looking with no cracked, dried edges.
The sauces we used for our Pan Fried Cheong Fun with Egg are sweet soy sauce and hoisin sauce. You can get sweet soy sauce 甜醬油 at the market, there are so many different kinds of soy sauce nowaday, just look for sweet or sweetened soy sauce, preferably without msg. Or you could make it yourself by dissolving a bit of sugar in boiled water, then adding that to regular soy sauce until mixture reaches preferred sweetness.
The other all important sauce is hoisin sauce, or 海鮮醬, which is a thick dark chinese sauce made from ground fermented soy beans, vinegar, garlic, sugar and lots of spices. It is both deliciously salty and sweet at the same time. Used a lot for both glazing meats and as a dipping sauce for meats. I love hoisin sauce! Seriously, I just eat it think about eating it straight out of the jar! It's, I don't know, just super tasty, thick and lovely, rightly sweetly saucy, just marvelicious!
You can get hoisin sauce at any Chinese supermarket or the wet market. Just be sure to check the imgredients and get the one that doesn't include msg!
Pan Fried Cheong Fun with Egg is a simple enough dish to make, but as always, simple has it's own rules. You will pan fry the cheong fun and the key here is enough oil so that the cheong fun doesn't stick to your pan.
Lay the cheong fun out and let fry over medium to low heat until golden brown bits start to appear and the rice rolls skin starts to crisp up a bit. Flip and repeat. Cook it long enough to bring out the fragrance of the rice.
This next part is just lots of fun for some reason, not sure why. It's just so jolly to cook eggs this way. Just pour your beaten egg in and wait until the bottom layer egg is set and just browning a bit here and there and then you flip the whole thing over, scramble a bit and when all the egg is just set and clinging gently to the rice rolls, it's done!
Tumble cheong fun out onto your serving dish and swish on your toppings and you're all ready for snacktime! We love our Pan Fried Cheong Fun with Egg on weekend mornings!
Pan Fried Cheong Fun Rice Rolls w/ Egg
香煎腸粉炒蛋
(2 servings) Prep time: 2 mins Cook time: 7 mins
(2 servings) Prep time: 2 mins Cook time: 7 mins
Ingredients:
- 6 cheong fun rolls 腸粉
- 1 egg, whisked
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce 海鮮醬
- 2 tsp water
- 1 tbsp sweet soy sauce 甜醬油
Directions:
Prepare hoisin sauce by adding boiled water to it 1 tsp at a time until just thin enough to drizzle.
Slice each cheong fun into 4 or 5 equal lengths about 2-3 inches each.
Prepare hoisin sauce by adding boiled water to it 1 tsp at a time until just thin enough to drizzle.
Slice each cheong fun into 4 or 5 equal lengths about 2-3 inches each.
Heat a non stick (preferably cast iron) pan over medium heat. When pan is hot add 1 tbsp oil. Lay out the cheong fun in the pan so that they do not overlap. Wait until cheong fun become golden brown on the bottom then use kitchen tongs to flip each piece over. Add a bit more oil if the cheong fun seems to be sticking to the pan.
When all cheong fun are golden and browned in bits, add beaten egg all over and in between. Wait for 10-15 secs or so while the egg sets and begins the brown just a bit on the bottom. Flip over the cheong fun rolls, wait another 10-15 secs or until the egg sets and is gently clinging to the rice rolls.
Use spatula to loosen the cheong fun into individual pieces then dish immediately into serving dish. Drizzle with sweet soy sauce and hoisin sauce and serve hot!
Yummilicious Snacks at The Hong Kong Cookery:
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Hello HK Cookery,
ReplyDeleteDoes the store only sell cheung fun to take home for cooking or do they also serve in the shop? Where is it located?
Thank you.
Hi Morgan - This little shop is located on at the intersection of Belcher St and Sai Cheung St in Kennedy Town, HK. They only sell food stuffs though. But there is a late night cha chaang tang on the other end of Kennedy Town, Hor Hor Dim 可可店 that serves great pan fried cheung fun with eggs all night long! ~ellen
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